Accorde
by Kitten Kisses
Summary: FE7. For the Alphabet Meme on LiveJournal. Pairings and character vary by chapter; all chapters are stand-alone one-shots. F is for Friendship, starring Huey and Florina, with minor appearances by Lyn, Sain, Hector, Vaida, and Wallace.
1. A is for An Eye: Matthew, Nino

**An Eye (For an Eye)****  
By: Manna

* * *

**

…_**xOx…**_

This Is the Fault of: Little Green Budgie

An Eye For an Eye: The principle of justice that requires punishment equal in kind to the offense (not greater than the offense, as was frequently given in ancient times). Thus, if someone puts out another's eye, one of the offender's eyes should be put out. The principle is stated in the Book of Exodus as "Thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot."

* * *

…_**xOx…**_

He hated Jaffar.

Matthew had always been one of those happy-go-lucky people. Leila had once teased him about secretly being unable to hurt a fly. He was too much of a sweetheart, she said. A lover, not a fighter.

At the time, he had agreed wholeheartedly; silliness aside, she had been right.

But after finding her corpse, after realizing who had done such a terrible thing to her, he wanted nothing more than to rip the heartless bastard's throat out, quite literally. Bloody? Yes. Gruesome? Yes.

Matthew could care less. To see Jaffar's intestines scattered across bloodstained grass would be like looking at a magnificent work of art.

But something stood in his way. _Something_ stopped him, and it wasn't the thought of Leila disapproving, either. No, it was little Nino, the only thing that betrayed the fact that his lover's killer did have a soft spot.

A very soft, squishy little spot, as a matter of fact. She had green hair and a smile that was as bright as Leila's had been before it was ruthlessly wiped from her face.

He could kill the little girl in one stroke. He could do so painlessly, effortlessly, and he'd burst with pleasure at the stricken look that would no doubt pass over Jaffar's usually expressionless features. The bastard deserved to suffer as he had, deserved to see the one thing that mattered more than anything in the world to him lie on the ground in a bloody, messy heap, deserved to touch that cold skin, deserved to see the life fade from her eyes, deserved—

His knife found its way back into its sheath.

He couldn't do it.

Leila had been right.

But Nino, so young and _innocent_, taking simple pleasure in spelling the word _fire_, soaking up knowledge like a sponge, making others laugh even on the worst of days, was what stopped him.

She had beamed at him, cheeks flushed a little in excitement. "Matthew!" she said joyously, hopefully, sweetly. "How do you spell your name?"

He found himself telling her, watching her write it in the dirt by the campfire before telling her that she had done well.

The thought of putting a knife in her made him feel nauseous. Jaffar deserved to suffer, deserved to see his future—if he had one—and his life torn to shreds right in front of him… But Nino, small and helpful and eager to please…did not.

* * *

…_**xOx…**_

**Author Notes:**

Part II of The Alphabet Meme. These prompts were given to me by people over on LJ (with a few exceptions), so forgive my inability to write good stories from their thoughts. I do hope these prove interesting, though. This will be updated slowly compared to _Arpeggio_, though, I'm afraid. I'm trying to focus more on chaptered 'fics, and that includes _Canon_.

Feedback is love, guys. Thank you for reading!


	2. B is for Bewitched: Jaffar, Nino

**Bewitched****  
By: Manna

* * *

**

…_**xOx…**_

This Is the Fault of: Miyuki Mina

Bewitched: To be captivated completely; entranced.

* * *

…_**xOx…**_

He really had no idea why he found her to be so…fascinating. There was just something about her, he supposed, though it was quite different from the way he found horses or castles to be interesting.

She didn't have to be doing anything particularly exciting or different. She just had to smile, and the happiness in her eyes…didn't even have to be directed at him. Just seeing her happy made him happy, too, though one could scarcely tell by simply looking at him. Seeing her get along with the other women, seeing Lady Lyn mother her, seeing Erk and Canas teach her, seeing her soak up knowledge and use it… It made everything worthwhile.

She had cared for him, once, and she still did in her own way. He wondered, sometimes, how things might have turned out had she not cared for him that one day. Would he have tried to keep her from assassinating Prince Zephiel, or would he have died without her assistance?

It didn't really matter. She was alive, healthy, energetic… Now that she was away from the Black Fang, she was a different person.

She was still Nino, still sweet and eager to please, but now all of her potential was out in the open where everyone could see it. She had people supporting her, loving her, caring about her… both openly and in secret.

They were fighting a war. But despite that, she seemed happier now than she ever had. And for some reason, seeing her that way brought him the strangest sense of…peace. Or perhaps it was contentment.

* * *

…_**xOx…**_

**Author Notes:**

I'm failtastic at writing Jaffar. I think he's an okay character, but writing his interaction with Nino is hard for me.


	3. C is for Cacophony: Oswin, Serra

**Cacophony****  
By: Manna

* * *

**

…_**xOx…**_

This Is the Fault of: Tabby

Cacophony: A discordant and meaningless mixture of sounds.

* * *

…_**xOx…**_

Everyone had a sound that they loved. (Rain against the windowpanes, birds breaking the silence of a foggy morning, or the quiet whickering of horses.)

Everyone had a sound that they hated. (A barbed arrow being removed from someone's flesh, the snapping of bones, or the quiet moaning of pain from comrades.)

There was one sound in particular that Oswin couldn't make up his mind about. One minute he would hear it and cringe, the next minute he'd hear it and sigh in relief. It really was quite baffling, and even after almost two years, he couldn't figure out how he felt about it.

It was, he decided, one of those moments in which he would give anything to hear the grating, obnoxious, slightly irritating voice of the woman in front of him. For all her teasing and silliness, she really _was_ delicate and frail.

Nearly an hour passed before she stirred, eyelashes fluttering against pale cheeks. He ignored the din of the fighting outside; the others would protect the healer's tent and wagon with everything they had because they never knew when they would find themselves in need of it.

She took in a deep breath, oblivious to the sounds of an injured cavalier as he tried to woo the redheaded woman healing him only a few yards away.

"Sir Oswin…" she breathed, sharply, the pain of her injury flooding her senses all at once. Her hand carefully prodded at her own side, at the bandages there and the tear in her dress. She looked slightly disappointed for a moment, most likely because she didn't have any other clothes.

"Serra." It was all he could say, really. She was okay. That was very important; her safety did matter to him…on some levels. On many levels, even. But he was loath to admit it. She was so young and energetic, and he quite the opposite. A strange pair, the two of them made, though they were, under no circumstances, official in any way.

"Sir Oswin!" That grating voice… Ah, it hurt his ears, just a little bit. But he was oh-so glad to hear it. The exact tone, though, was different, not at all obnoxious, though certainly similar to the way she might speak to someone who wouldn't sit still long enough for her to heal.

"How are you feeling?" He felt that he ought to ask, if only because he had failed to keep her out of harm's way to begin with.

She shook her head at him, "I'm fine, but what are _you_ doing here? You, _Sir_—" said in perhaps the most sarcastic manner he had ever heard in his life, "—should be out helping the others! Why, I can still hear the sounds of the battle!"

She might be frail and delicate, but she was also stubborn.

"They need you out there, you know! You don't have to stay here—I already know about your feelings for me! Under no circumstances should you feel obligated to reassure me of them during a battle, of all places. Really, Sir Oswin, I thought you knew better than—"

It was about that point when he tuned her out. Well, perhaps he didn't. Her chatter was, as usual, quite distracting, but also simultaneously terrible and wonderful.

He quickly realized that it made good background noise.

* * *

…_**xOx…**_

**Author Notes:**

Serra and Oswin are so much fun. They don't get enough love.


	4. D is for Deceit: Kent, Lyndis

**Deceit****  
By: Manna

* * *

**

…_**xOx…**_

This Is the Fault of: Tabby

Deceit: The act or practice of deceiving; concealment or distortion of the truth for the purpose of misleading; duplicity; fraud.

* * *

…_**xOx…**_

Both Kent and Lyndis hated to lie. To speak an untruth went against everything they had ever been taught. It was surprising how similar they both were despite their very different upbringings.

It was Lyn's suggestion to simply say that they were merely deceiving the others, rather than imply that they were lying to them.

Kent supposed that she had a point, there. They weren't really lying, per se…they were merely saying nothing at all, letting others assume things that were not true, and it certainly helped keep things…quiet.

He knew that she didn't want to hide, and he felt the same way—again with the similarities—but their situation required it. He scarcely knew how it had even happened—or rather, how _they_ had happened. It seemed that one day, they were friends, the next they were friends that wanted to be something more, and then the day after that…they _were_ more than friends.

The problem was simple, though fairly complex in its own way: they couldn't be together until Lyndis abdicated Caelin. It was hard to be silent, sometimes. The war had been difficult enough; they were given time together, time alone, time apart… But after returning to Caelin, things became worse. It was hard for him to watch her dancing with men that weren't and could never be him. It was hard for her to see him standing along the wall at every single event, never able to participate.

During the war, they marched side by side for hours, days, weeks, _months_. In Caelin, they were separated for hours, days, sometimes _weeks_ at a time if he was ordered away from the castle to quell an uprising or defend villages that could not defend themselves.

So they enjoyed the time they could together, as rare and hard as it was to find between the parties and the training and the necessary sleeping. Sometimes it was but a moment, other times minutes. Seldom were they granted hours or even an entire day, but when they were, they took advantage of it.

Lyndis already knew how precious time could be. She understood, only too well, what it was like to lose someone, to lose someone and not be given a chance to say goodbye one last time. Kent knew, by every word that left her lips, that she would never fail to tell him exactly how she felt about him. And for her sake, he tried harder to do the same, to put what he felt into words even though he had always been terrible at it.

Their love was, by all rights, an impossible one. If she was not choosing to abdicate Caelin rather than ascend to the throne, their love would remain as it was forever. Courtly love, as celebrated as it seemed to be in plays and books, was not something Kent could settle for, and he doubted that Lyn could, either. As selfish and ungentlemanly as it was, he wanted her—_all_ of her. He wanted her to himself. When he had shyly admitted as much, she had laughed, insisting that he would indeed have all of her, someday, as soon as they left Caelin.

They had been together, in love, for over two years. Time tried their patience, both with keeping things secret, and with the desire to give all of themselves to the other. Nothing would be a secret, though, if the noble lady of Caelin found herself pregnant, and she would be shamed, possibly cast out—and he put to death, certainly.

Perhaps that was the only thing that kept them from consummating their love in the way that a married couple would. It wasn't as if, she had said rather dryly, once, they would ever be allowed to legally marry one another.

Kent feared for Lyndis's reputation, for her honor and her safety; she feared for his life. Should they be found out, it would spell only disaster for them both. It was something they couldn't risk.

Silence, unfortunately, was the only answer.

"Anyway," Sain was saying as Kent spaced off beside him, "I was thinking that I should probably wait until early summer to go to Ilia. I hear it's not too bad there that time of the year, and it'd probably be easier for me to get used to it… Alas, my angel waits for me, and she will have to wait a little longer than we had planned, I am afraid…" The older, wiser of the two of them put his head in his hands and sighed. "I thought that Lord Hausen would have departed this place by—"

"Sain!" Kent turned his head sharply, brown eyes furious as he glared at his friend. "To say such a thing, it's—!"

"Oh, come off it, Kent. It wasn't meant as an insult. Originally I had planned to wait until Lady Lyn abdicated to run off to Ilia, but by his health, I thought that would have happened over a year ago. It looks as if I'll be leaving beforehand."

With a snort, the younger knight looked at the wall instead of Sain's melancholy face. If only his companion knew that he understood only too well what he was going through… He couldn't tell him, though. He couldn't tell _anyone_, not even his own mother, who likely fretted over him because he had not married and by St. Elimine, he was getting old!

Suddenly, Sain smiled and clapped him on the back, jumping to his feet, leaving his dinner only half-eaten. "I think I'll write Fiora tonight. I could send it out in the morning with a messenger…"

"Very well."

"What will you do?"

He shook his head, "I will be back late. I have guard duty tonight."

"Again?" When Kent nodded, the sandy-haired knight blinked hazel eyes at him in disbelief. "I never get issued any kind of guard duty anymore," he said. "Not that I'm complaining, of course. I do admit that I sorely detest it. But I heard that Lady Lyndis is the one who has been ordering such things…" He trailed off, waiting, perhaps, for a reaction out of his friend.

"What of it?" If Sain had expected Kent to look anything but completely neutral on the subject of Lady Lyndis ordering the knight commander around, he was disappointed.

"Nothing, nothing…" Clapping him on the back again, Sain walked a step away. "She's been working you hard, lately. Usually, you know, a lady doesn't make orders within the military unless there's a war and her husband's away or dead. I am starting to think that you've angered her. What did you do, Kent? Forget to dot an _i_ on one of your reports? Or did you refuse to indulge her hand with a kiss at the last formal ceremony that was held, here?"

The more the man spoke, the further his feet took him from his half-eaten food and his boon companion.

Kent was glad when he disappeared around the corner; it was hard for him to maintain an uninterested, innocent expression while Sain prattled on about things like kissing Lyn's hand. Oh, he had done much worse than _that_… He had, after all, kissed more than her hand. He had kissed her a lot.

If Sain knew, he would likely faint on the spot, unable to believe that his auburn-haired longtime friend was capable of such things.

He had, admittedly, felt guilty about every little touch, every little kiss, for a long time. But Lyndis enjoyed it, enjoyed him, his company, his voice, each touch and every kiss. The same held true for him, as well. He could deny her nothing.

Calmly, carefully, his usual seriousness wrapped around him, he finished his dinner, and made his way to his room. Sain's room was beside his, and he noticed that his friend's door was ajar. A smile on the man's face as he dipped his quill in a bottle of ink almost made Kent smile, too. Sain was so good with words, eloquent on paper and in person.

Sometimes, he wished he could be just as good at such things, but he knew that it would never happen. Still, the thought of leaving Lyndis nice little notes to find was one that he entertained often…

What would he say, though? Nothing that he could speak or write would ever be good enough to tell her how much she meant to him. He abandoned his silly thoughts as he pulled on his armor, latching and buckling it all securely even though in a few hours, he doubted he'd still be wearing it.

The corridor outside of Lady Lyndis's room—ah, it was getting harder and harder for him to remember her title—was eerily silent. She had made changes to the night watch, altering the amount of men in the halls and changing their positions. It was a recent motion on her part, and people assumed it was because she didn't feel like she needed protecting.

Only Kent and Lyn knew the truth. The truths, to be more precise.

She was tired of being alone, tired of sleeping alone, of eating alone, of _feeling_ alone. She didn't need protecting by half of Caelin's military. All she needed was one man by her side to watch over her, and she knew exactly who she wanted that man to be.

And Kent…wanted to be that man.

Forever.

For always.

It was late when her door opened without a sound. He hurried across the large hall, his leather boots silent against the wooden floor. He reached her side, and he was in the receiving room, eyes focused only on her. She stood before him the same way she had for several nights, since she had been requesting his presence outside her door. A candlestick was in her hands, the light casting itself across her face, creating shadows that he wanted to touch, to kiss. Her long hair hung down her back, tied once with a ribbon halfway down.

It wasn't long before that ribbon was out; he wrapped it around her left ring finger, one of those silly little games they played that neither of them grew tired of.

She smiled, taking his hand, pulling him into her bedroom before closing the door behind them. Once they were alone and safe, his armor came off, settling into a neat pile on the floor.

Their lips met, once, a kiss that seemed to go on for hours, though both of them knew that hours would never be long enough. He kicked his boots off as he kissed her face, leading them both to the bed. Once there, they stopped, pulling away from each other. He got in first, letting his back rest against the headboard. She crawled in afterward, settling against his chest, her head on his shoulder as he pulled the blankets over them both. She sighed, her fingers tickling his toes through his socks, trying to get a reaction out of him. He leaned down, kissing just behind her ear.

She stopped, smiling widely, her hand reaching behind her for his face, fingertips running down the slant of his jaw, over the bridge of his nose…

"I missed you," she finally said, softly, sleepily.

"It has only been a day." But his lips were turned upward as he played with her hair, fingers undoing the small tangles that had formed.

"I know." She sighed, relaxing. "I can't assign you to duty tomorrow night."

"People will get suspicious," he finished. "I understand. It's okay…"

"It isn't," she whispered. "It really isn't. Besides… Kent, who could do a better job than you?"

And who could? He was in her bed, after all. Nobody could guard her as closely as he.

His arms wrapped around her, hands clasping over her stomach as he let his cheek rest against her head. "No one, Lyndis… No one."

It wasn't long before she drifted off, lulled to sleep by the sound of his even, soft breathing and the warmth of his embrace. Her only regret was that in the morning, she would wake up alone. Perhaps that regret belonged to the both of them.

But Kent didn't have to return to his post until five o'clock in the morning. At six o'clock, he would be relieved of his duty and be allowed to return to his room to sleep.

They had seven precious hours together, and they spent all but the first twenty minutes of it sleeping.

In the morning, Lyndis did wake up to find herself alone, on one side of the bed, her arms wrapped around a pillow instead of her knight, the blankets pulled up around her snugly. She sighed a little, stretching her legs under her sheets as she wondered what it might be like to wake up to find Kent there with her, next to her. Maybe his arms would still be around her… How wonderful that would—no, _will_, she reminded herself—be…

It was then that she noticed something lying on the pillow beside her. A small piece of parchment that was folded neatly in half. A smile flickered across her face as she plucked it from its resting spot and unfolded it.

Lyn had never been good at reading; it was still something that Chancellor Reissmann scolded her for being terrible at. But there were only five words on this particular piece of parchment, and she could read every single one of them.

_Good morning.  
I love you._

Folding it back in half, she pressed her lips against it before holding it tightly against her heart.

* * *

…_**xOx…**_

**Author Notes:**

This is the longest one, yet. I'm happy with how it turned out. Lyn and Kent have successfully deceived a lot of people for a long time. I do hope their luck holds.


	5. E is for Eagerness: Wallace, Vaida

**E is for Eagerness  
By: Manna

* * *

**

**…-…-…**

This Is the Fault of: Tabby

Eagerness: Keen or ardent in desire or feeling; impatiently longing; characterized by or revealing great earnestness.

* * *

**…-…-…**

Everyone knew that potatoes were a staple in a real man's diet; though they were starchy, they were also filling, and Wallace knew better than anyone how very important that was. A man couldn't fight on an empty stomach, after all!

His fork came down through the soft squishy center of his potato, giving a loud _screech_ as it met the glass of the plate beneath. Feeling a poisonous stare boring into his soul from the other side of the table, he glared at the figure seated across from him.

They were in the middle of a feast! A celebration!

…And the viper's plate didn't have good, wholesome potatoes on it! No, instead of potatoes sat greasy, thick slabs of crispy bacon. He felt as if he were being taunted; the wavy, warm strips laughed before they found their tiny imaginary voices muffled behind the lips of the viper.

With slow deliberation, he stabbed his potato again, all the while glaring at Vaida, who was glaring at him.

"If you wanted some bacon, you clanking rustbucket, you should have just taken some," she finally said to him.

Tension was high in the air. Heath moved over a few inches. Sain watched curiously. Kent took some bacon.

…Hold. Wallace's beady eyes slid to his former knight. "Kent," he said, his voice dangerously low.

The redhead paused, the bacon halfway to his mouth. "Yes?" he asked.

"You would eat that filth?"

Kent pulled his fork away from his mouth and looked at the bacon. "It looks fine to me," he said, sounding confused.

The viper smirked from across the way.

Wallace turned his gaze back to her, but he spoke to Kent, loathing every crunchety-crunch he heard from beside him as his (formerly very loyal, but now clearly corrupted) knight ate the wretched food. "Potatoes are a man's food."

"Let him eat what he wants, Wormbait."

Kent swallowed. "I have potatoes." He pointed to his plate, where steaming piles of glorious potatoes greeted Wallace when he took a chance on glancing at the other man's plate.

"Hah!" the former general said, pointing at Vaida. "You see? The boy has potatoes!"

"And yet he ate the bacon first."

"But _clearly_ he saves the best for last!"

Kent's mumblings about not being a boy at all were lost on everyone, drowned out by the loud voices of the former commanders of Caelin and Bern.

"Potatoes fill you up!"

"Bacon gives you strength!"

"_Potatoes_ give you energy!"

"Worthless energy, you bloody gnatbag!"

"Can't I have them both?" Kent asked, but nobody was listening to him.

Ten minutes of arguing passed before people started glancing down the table, to where Lucius sat, smiling quietly to himself, completely oblivious to the argument that continued.

On his plate: potatoes.

In his hand: bacon.

He crumbled it, letting it settle over the potatoes before he spread butter on it all. With a contented sigh, he shoveled a forkful into his mouth.

Wallace puffed out his chest. "Now _that_," he said, "is a _real_ man."

"Why do you say that?" Kent asked wearily.

"It takes a real man to make such a compromise… We could all learn from him."

"Compromise?" Vaida asked, eyes narrowing. "What did you say about _compromising_?"

"You wouldn't know a compromise if it bit you in the—"

"I'll _show_ you compromising, you overgrown goose egg!" she said, boldly shoveling potatoes right on top of her plate of bacon. She slathered them with butter just as Lucius had.

"Oh, you think you can outdo me, Viper?" He snatched up slabs of bacon and crushed them in his fist, letting them fall into crumbs onto his potatoes.

Both grabbed their silverware and proceeded to "compromise".

Neither would ever admit that the combination was better than either food item alone.

* * *

**…-…-…**

**Author Notes:**

This is so canon, it hurts.


	6. F is for Friendship: Florina and Huey

**F is for Friendship**  
**By: Manna**

* * *

This is the fault of: Penandpaper71

Friendship: The state of being a friend, where a friend is a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.

* * *

Huey is born on a cold winter morning in Ilia. She is weak and unresponsive, and rejected by her shaggy-coated mother, who later colics and dies.

Florina, a girl of eight, takes an interest in this filly who cannot yet walk, and takes it upon herself to sleep in the straw-filled barn to bottle feed at random hours.

She speaks softly in the moonlight, patting down her forelock, "Huey means _bright in mind and spirit_. Don't give up."

And Huey doesn't.

* * *

When Florina is ten years old, she begins training to become a knight. She is smaller and weaker than the other girls, and she stammers when she means to shout.

That spring, they have a trial mission for junior trainees, and Florina panics. Huey is watching when the other girls approach and try to place the blame of the failed mission on Florina, and her ears go back as her neck reaches out. The snapping of a pegasus's teeth and the flapping of agitated wings forces the girls to back off, but later Florina's tears fall into Huey's painstakingly-braided mane, and Huey realizes that people can be cruel for no real reason at all.

* * *

Nursing a few red stings upon her face and arms, Florina puts her hand forward to shake the hand of the girl in front of them.

"I-I'm Florina," she says. "And this is my friend, Huey."

"Everyone calls me Lyn," she replies, and reaches out with a kind smile to rub Huey's soft, velvety nose. "I've never seen a pegasus up close before," she continues. "What's it like to fly?"

Florina smiles shyly, and looks at Huey. "Should we show her?" she asks, and Huey stretches her wings and dances to the side in anticipation.

* * *

They are flying over the battle when suddenly, there is a sharp yank on the reins, and the corner of Huey's mouth tears just the slightest bit from the pressure.

Something is wrong.

When Huey lands, Florina struggles to stay in the saddle, but she slips and lands in a crumpled heap on the grass. Huey turns to inspect the damage, but an arrow lodged under Florina's breastplate gives her the only information she needs.

She nuzzles her fallen rider, but Florina's response is weak, and when a soldier approaches that Huey does not recognize, the pegasus rises on her back legs and lashes out with hooves and teeth and wings to attempt some measure of protection.

When at last they are again alone, Huey nervously side-steps and alternates between nosing at Florina's hair and looking around for a familiar face, for how can she get help when it requires her to leave?

When she sees a hairless head and full armor approaching, Huey voices her distress in the only way she knows how, and Wallace approaches.

"Easy, girl," he says, and tries to pat Huey's shoulder, but the gesture does little to comfort her, and instead, she hovers uncomfortably close to the man as he carefully kneels to investigate Florina's wounds.

After a moment, he sighs, and touches Florina's face. "Florina?" he calls, softly. "Do you have any last words?"

But Florina doesn't answer, and after a few moments, the young rider's breathing slows and eventually stops, and Huey does not quite understand why Wallace is picking her up, shielding her with his cloak, so she follows him into the camp, where Serra cries and Lyn screams out a sharp, "No!" and Kent and Sain bow their heads and retrieve a spade.

After the hole is dug and Florina placed inside, Huey approaches to try to keep Sain from burying her, because Huey, however, loyal, however smart, does not understand why they are hiding her friend in such a manner.

Sain wraps his arms around Huey's neck and squeezes gently, and he speaks, softly, so that the others do not hear the quiver in his voice, "She is gone, old girl. We've all lost a dear friend, today."

But Huey thinks that maybe Sain doesn't understand, because Florina is Huey's only friend, her truest friend, the one that might have saved her life, that stayed with her and confided in her all things. They lost a friend, but Huey has lost her Florina.

When the grave is finished and Lyn and Serra and Rebecca place wildflowers over it, Huey settles herself next to the disturbed earth, and watches the group march away. Lyn does not try to take her along, because Huey is sure that Lyn understands her relationship with Florina better than anyone.

But when the army marches against the horizon, one person does approach, someone that Huey had never seen speaking with Florina.

"It's a shame," Vaida says, looking impassive as she lays her hand on the rough wooden cross shoved deep into the ground. Her voice, however, betrays regret. "They have each other, but you only have her." She says nothing more, but gives Huey a pat on the shoulder before she moves to her snorting wyvern and takes to the skies.

* * *

Huey remembers a cold, bleak day, and a warm little girl who gave her a name and therefore life and purpose.

And after a while, she stands, and stretches her wings. With one final glance back at the gravesite, she takes to the skies and meets the army, giving an awful fright to everyone when she lands suddenly in front of Lyn and simply blinks.

Lyn wraps her arms around Huey's neck in a fierce hug, and manages to get on her back with Sain's help as Kent protests weakly in the background.

They take to the skies, where Lyn sobs brokenly, expressing her grief in a way Huey cannot. When she has calmed herself, she promises retribution for Florina. "We'll get them back," she says.

And Huey understands, but both of them know that revenge will not bring Florina back to them.

* * *

After the war, Huey goes with Hector to Ostia, where she is well fed and allowed her freedom.

But eventually, she grows old.

Hector visits her in the snowy open meadow behind the castle with his daughter, and while the little girl falls into the snow to make angels, Hector watches Huey's arthritic knees buckle under the pressure of standing.

"I knew Florina," he finally tells her, "but I didn't know _your_ Florina."

Huey nuzzles Hector's neck with her soft nose and Hector runs his fingers through her mane for a moment before he speaks.

"I never cared much for flying monsters, but you're all right." When Huey stretches her wings, Hector frowns, but his eyes are filled with a quiet understanding. "It's all right," he tells her, and Huey knows that he does not expect her back.

Florina's grave is grown over with moss and weeds and the whole area glistens white with an early morning frost. Huey lands nearby and folds her wings carefully before sinking to the ground next to the wooden cross.

She remembers _bright of mind and spirit_, warm hands, and a soft, reassuring voice. She dreams of flying over Sacae while Florina and Lyn laugh on her back, and she recalls the rush of the cool Ilian breeze over Edessa.

And she waits.

* * *

**Author Notes: **Huey's gender is never made clear, so I went with female for this story even though I usually lean toward making Huey male. I don't know how such a cute happy prompt turned into this, but hey. I haven't written anything for a while, so have this. :)


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